I heard Obama speak in 2004 and thought: I've seen the new black Kennedy

Tuesday 20 January 2009 10:06 BST

Shooting star: Obama with his family

I first set eyes on Barack Obama while covering an event that was supposed to be about someone else entirely. It was the Democratic party's Boston convention, nominating John Kerry as candidate for the 2004 presidential race.

Mr Kerry was not a man to excite enthusiasm. Listening to his ponderous speeches and sanctimonious Brahmin delivery, it seemed clear to me that the Democrats had chosen a turkey. Only one thing caught fire: the speech by a young Illinois senator on the need to reforge a true "United States of America", defined by unity in its diversity, not divisions.

Listening to his easy rolling cadences and the infectious optimism, my first response was, "I've just seen the new black Kennedy," - a reaction, it turned out, rather a lot of other people were sharing.

Mr Obama had come to Boston as a promising next-generation politician and had left as a shooting star.

Many of the characteristics which have propelled him so fast to the presidency were on display that day: his ability to transcend differences without sounding glib and his knack of conveying credible optimism, even when dealing with sombre subjects - then primarily the Iraq war, now the state of the US economy and its consequences.

Few of us would have bet he could reach the White House in four years. His supporters talked of a dry run in 2008 as preparation for a later, serious bid.

But he had the drive and self-belief to create his own electoral machine out of nothing. He recalls his team's first meetings held "in living rooms in Chicago". That is where it might all have remained, were it not for his major ally: the internet. It was the net which enabled a newcomer to run an early campaign reaching out to young Americans and establish himself as an alternative to Hillary Clinton.

His key strategist David Axelrod's "bottom up" campaign emphasised the need for individual commitment and small donations. So Mr Obama was not only the New New thing: but the candidate for voters who distrusted big-money politics - a powerful combination. It traded on the appearance of spontaneity, while being minutely planned and executed.

It still would not have worked had it not been for the political acumen of the man and a unique collection of talents.

He has a life story of aspiration and opportunity which embodies the American dream. His major setback was that he appeared too exotic: the major fear of his own team was that he would not be able to convince those voters who found his background baffling and rarefied.

But Mr Obama has evolved political communication to a new level. He has Bill Clinton's ability to address the electorate as if he were on a level with it, but he shares more openly the idea that governing well in these times is difficult and that he wants the country to view his leadership as part of a collective endeavour.

In a word, Mr Obama is smart. Although consistent in his opposition to the Iraq war, one of the factors which gave him definition against the more nuanced and changeable view of Mrs Clinton, is he is keenly aware of being boxed into an anti-war position he may not be able to sustain as president.

So a key speech on America and war begins with a long defence of the need for the US to remain an active military power - and only then segues into why he believes Iraq was the wrong battle to fight. For all his passion, he rarely backs himself into a cul de sac.

Already his administration has a bi-partisan edge and he took time to consult leading conservative voices in Congress two weeks ago. The pastor chosen for his inauguration, Rick Warren, is a well-known Conservative on social and moral issues.

This may be mystifying for those supporters whose enthusiasm for him is the flipside of a hatred and despair of the outgoing administration. But the skinny senator from Illinois is no ingénue. He has forged bonds of belief which will allow him the freedom he needs to make compromises and, on occasion, disappoint his supporters, now that the big job is his.